Qantas Group’s CEO Alan Joyce and Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan
THE national carrier of Australia and the country’s top tourism body have put their differences aside in pursuit of greater international arrivals, sealing their renewed friendship with a new A$20 million (US$15.2 million) deal signed yesterday.
Qantas and Tourism Australia will embark on a three-year agreement to invest in joint campaigns involving public relations, social media and trade activities with a focus on Asia, Europe, the US and the UK.
It also includes an anonymised data sharing arrangement to better reach customers considering travelling to Australia.
The move comes four years after the two entities had a row over differences centered around Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and his former mentor Geoff Dixon, who was also chairman of Tourism Australia for a time.
“Both Qantas and Tourism Australia want the same thing – a strong tourism industry that makes Australia the first choice for people all over the world. With tourism both to-and-within Australia on the rise, it’s the ideal time for us to join forces once again,” said Joyce in a press statement.
“This new investment builds on the marketing we already do and our partnerships with state and territory governments to put Australia’s best foot forward. Qantas has always been the biggest private sector supporter of Australian tourism and we will continue to focus on growing visitor numbers.”
Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan also expressed his optimism for the partnership, which has been a long time coming.
“When you consider the nature of our respective businesses, this is a deal which just makes sense – for Tourism Australia, for Qantas and, most of all, for Australian inbound tourism,” he said.
“The shared resources this agreement brings together are considerable and we’re very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead to grow international inbound traffic and increase regional dispersal.”
